In the late hours of a Tuesday night in Kansas City, Missouri, the life of 20-year-old Dajuan Reese was tragically cut short. On September 10, 2019, police were dispatched to the Park Meadows apartment complex in the 7900 block of Manchester Avenue following reports of a shooting. Inside one of the apartments, officers discovered the bodies of Dajuan Reese and 44-year-old Rance R.
Burton; both men had been shot and were pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the double homicide revealed a drug deal that had escalated into a fatal robbery. According to court records, Reese was in his apartment when Burton and another man, later identified as Kevin D. Dean, arrived. Witnesses told police that Reese answered the door, leading to a confrontation with Burton. During the altercation that ensued, shots were fired. Burton was shot in a bedroom, and Reese was shot in the dining room.
In the course of their investigation, detectives learned from witnesses that Burton had been with a man known by the nickname '40.' This crucial piece of information led them to a phone contact for '40' in Burton's phone, and they were able to associate that number with Kevin D. Dean. A witness later identified a photograph of Dean as the man she had last seen with Burton on the night of the murders.
In February 2020, Kevin D. Dean, who was 28 at the time, was charged in connection with the deaths of Dajuan Reese and Rance Burton. The charges filed against him included two counts of second-degree murder, three counts of armed criminal action, first-degree attempted robbery, and unlawful use of a weapon. Dean was apprehended in Iowa on unrelated charges before being charged with the Kansas City homicides.
